Minister for Trade and Export Growth David
Parker welcomed United Kingdom Secretary of State for
International Trade Liam Fox today in
Wellington.

“Secretary Fox and I have had an opportunity
to discuss a range of issues of shared interest and to
reflect on the areas of our bilateral trade relationship
where we may be able to do more” says Mr Parker.

Minister Parker and Secretary Fox expressed commitment to
maintaining maximum certainty and stability in bilateral
trade and investment conditions as the UK prepares to leave
the EU. This would include a seamless transition of the
regulations governing bilateral trade and ensuring New
Zealand will not be worse off in its access to the UK market
as a result of the UK exiting the EU.

“The United
Kingdom and New Zealand have a long-standing, deep and close
relationship that is grounded in our shared history, values,
institutions, and traditions.

“We are close trading
partners, and maintain an ongoing dialogue to discuss trade
issues, including the implications of Brexit for our
existing and future trade and economic relationship” says
Mr Parker.

Secretary Fox and Minister Parker discussed
working closely together to identify new opportunities to
advance the bilateral trade and economic relationship,
including laying foundations to progress towards a
comprehensive, modern, high quality free trade agreement
once the UK has left the EU.

They also discussed
respective approaches to ensuring all citizens share in the
benefits from international trade, including by promoting
regional development and providing opportunities for
businesses of all sizes.

The United Kingdom is New
Zealand’s fifth largest trading partner (goods and
services combined), and sixth largest export market for
merchandise goods.

Scoop Citizen Members and ScoopPro Organisations are the lifeblood of Scoop.

20 years of independent publishing is a milestone, but your support is essential to keep Scoop thriving. We are building on our offering with new In-depth Engaged Journalism platform - thedig.nz.
Find out more and join us:

The focus of Labour’s alleged sexual assault scandal has now shifted from the party organisation to the Beehive... This is now a crisis of Beehive management and response, not something occurring at a distance within the party organisation.

Presumably, the QC appointed to clarify what happened will eventually shed light on key issues. Such as: on what date prior to the publication of the original Spinoff article did the party hierarchy/PM’s office/PM’s press secretary realise they were dealing with a sexual assault allegation, and what did they do about it at that point? More>>

ALSO:

An official pardon for Tūhoe prophet and leader Rua Kēnana is one step closer after the Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana: Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill was read in Parliament for the first time today. More>>

“We have listened carefully to the growing calls from New Zealanders to know more about our own history and identity. With this in mind it makes sense for the National Curriculum to make clear the expectation that our history is part of the local curriculum and marau ā kura in every school and kura,” Jacinda Ardern said. More>>

Jacinda Ardern: “This morning I was provided some of the correspondence from complainants written to the party several months ago. It confirms that the allegations made were extremely serious, that the process caused complainants additional distress, and that ultimately, in my view, the party was never equipped to appropriately deal with the issue…" More>>

A recent trip to China has raised questions over who the Opposition leader Simon Bridges met with and why... Anne-Marie Brady, a Canterbury University professor and expert on Chinese politics, has described Guo Shengkun as the leader of the Chinese secret police. More>>

Torture is a crime under international law. New Zealand has signed (a) the UN convention against torture and (b) formal agreements about how armed conflict should be conducted. That’s the legal backdrop to the fascinating report released this week by the SIS Inspector-General.